Guest Post

Guest Chick: Cynthia Swanson and a Giveaway!

Cynthia Swanson is in Becky’s and Cynthia’s Sisters in Crime Colorado chapter so she comes with our seal of approval … even though she doesn’t write cozies. To make up for that tiny transgression, she is giving away a free audiobook version of Anyone But Her. For a chance to win, please answer this question in the comments: What song, artist, or album from your youth has most stayed with you over the years, and why? Can’t wait to read your responses. Good luck!

1970s Musical Nostalgia in Anyone But Her

When readers ask why my latest standalone psychological suspense title, Anyone But Her, is set in two timelines, one of them 1979 and the other 2004, the answer is a no-brainer for me. Anyone But Her tells the story of Suzanne—named for the Leonard Cohen song of the same name and adored by her mother, Alex, who is shot and killed during an armed robbery at Alex’s record store on Denver’s Colfax Avenue in 1979, when Suzanne is fourteen. A clairvoyant since childhood, Suzanne is unsurprised when Alex’s ghost appears. But when Alex—whom Suzanne nicknames “Mom-not-Mom”—raises alarm bells about Suzanne’s father’s new girlfriend, Peggy, the actions Suzanne takes have repercussions that continue to haunt her in the book’s second time period, 2004.

The 1979 timeline was never a question for me—nor was the idea of Alex owning a record store. Like any child of the seventies, I spent plenty of time (and money) in record stores. Singles cost a dollar, and it was always fun to discover what was on the B side. Buying an album meant shelling out nine or ten bucks, so you generally didn’t do so unless there were several songs on it that you liked.

The artists and songs of that era are unforgettable for me, and as such, I included as many as possible in Anyone But Her. Quoting song lyrics is a no-no unless an author has a pretty penny to spend acquiring rights to include them—but mentioning titles and talking about songs is fine, and I did plenty of both.

For example, there’s a scene in which Suzanne and Mom-not-Mom listen to a mix tape that Alex (before she became Mom-not-Mom) made for Suzanne—and which includes clues to the mystery Suzanne must solve about Peggy. The songs on the tape range from Rickie Lee Jones (“Company”) to Joni Mitchell (“Both Sides, Now”) to Sister Sledge (“We Are Family”). If you aren’t a fellow child of the seventies, those titles likely mean little to you. But if you are, perhaps they evoke visceral memories—as they do for me, and for Suzanne.

I couldn’t write about this iconic musical era without mentioning Prince, who was just getting his start in 1979. For Suzanne, Prince is pivotal: she attends a Prince concert in a small(ish) Denver venue, the Rainbow Music Hall, in November 1979. This concert actually happened, and I owe thanks to a Facebook group devoted to the Rainbow Music Hall for helping me bring the scene about it to life.

I could go on, but a better way to share the music that informed Anyone But Her—both the 1970s music and the songs Suzanne listens to as an adult in 2004—is via my “Anyone But Her” Spotify playlist: https://shorturl.at/3qeHv.

Happy reading—and happy listening!

Cynthia Swanson writes psychological suspense. Cynthia’s debut novel, The Bookseller, was a New York Times bestseller, an Indie Next selection, the winner of the 2016 WILLA Literary Award for Historical Fiction, and is slated to be a motion picture produced by Julia Roberts. The Bookseller is translated into 18 languages. Cynthia’s second novel, The Glass Forest, was a USA Today bestseller and is translated into 7 languages. Her third novel, Anyone But Her, was named 2024 Best Mystery/Thriller by the Indie Author Project. Cynthia is the editor of the Colorado Book Award winning anthology Denver Noir, which features dark, morally ambiguous stories set in and around Denver, Colorado, written by 14 notable literary and mystery authors. Cynthia lives with her family in Denver.

Website: https://cynthiaswansonauthor.com/anyone-but-her 
Substack: https://thewhatifjournal.substack.com/  
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/cynswanauthor.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CynthiaSwanson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynswanauthor/

25 thoughts on “Guest Chick: Cynthia Swanson and a Giveaway!”

  1. Congratulations on the book. I’d have to say the album that has stayed with me is Bon Jovi’s SLIPPERY WHEN WET and the iconic “Livin’ on a Prayer.” I was 13 or 14 when it was popular, and it was one of the first cassette tapes I bought with my own money (much to my mother’s dismay).

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    1. “Livin’ on a Prayer” is one of those songs that always get turned up loudly in my car, Liz. I’m also happy to report that my 20-year-old twin sons know every word. Even better: their familiarity with it isn’t because of me, but rather because there are particular 80s songs that Gen Z has embraced — and that’s one of them. If it hadn’t come out after the era of Anyone But Her (Bon Jovi released it in 1986), I would definitely have included it. Thanks! (Now I have it in my head.)

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  2. Glad you’re here on the Chicks, Cynthia! I always admire those who have playlists connected to their books. Congrats on Anyone But Her! I actually listened to a lot of 50s/60s songs as a kid, but I guess maybe Madonna was pretty big…

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    1. Love Madonna! She was college music for me — and because the main character in Anyone But Her, Suzanne, is similar in age, she would have been college music for Suzanne, too. And I’m sure Alex, had she not suffered her unfortunate fate, would have embraced Madonna as a strong female artist and role model. As it was, Alex found plenty such role models in the music of female musicians from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Thanks for your comment!

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  3. Congratulations on the new release, Cynthia! The first single I bought was “Rock n Roll Heaven.” I was 9 or 10 at the time and my mom picked up the tab. The first album I bought with money I’d earned was The Blues Brothers “Briefcase Full of Blues” when I was 13. I still have the album, I’m please to say!

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  4. Cynthia, this sounds like a great read! Don’t enter me in the contest, but the songs that have stayed with me are anything by KC & the Sunshine Band. BTW, my husband and I were watching the special on SNL’s 50 years of music. I went to one taping once. I remember Charlene Tilton was the host and Eddie Murphy was hysterical. But what I didn’t remember was the musical guest – PRINCE!!

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    2. I went to an advertising party where Prince performed–he was on a stage and I was on the dance floor just below him. He had so much energy–but I couldn’t believe I was taller than him. (He was 5’3″)

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  5. In 1979, I was listening to the Kinks, Elvis Costello, the Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, the Police, the Squeeze, Talking Heads, the Buzzcocks, the B-5s….. You get the idea. And I love that you made a play list for your book–how cool is that!

    Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, and congrats on the new book–it sounds awesome!

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  6. Thanks so much for visiting Chicks today, Cynthia. Anyone But Her sounds awesome! I had 2 albums I played on endless rotation: Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. In the car we had an 8-track of the Beach Boys’ Endless Summer that belonged to the previous owner. I loved driving around town with it blaring (I lived near a beach).

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    1. I loved both of those albums, too, Lisa! My sister’s and my 8-track that we listened to all the time in the car was Kansas. Carry on my wayward son…can still hear that on a loop in my head.

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  7. Wow! Hard to narrow it down to just one group. Three I can think of off the top of my head are The Police, Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode.

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  8. I ❤️ when authors incorporate music from the time period a book is set! Hearing a song takes me back instantly to particular memories,just like scents do. I have always had eclectic musical tastes that run from Billy Joel and Styx to the Kinks and the Police. Lately I have been listening to Green Day’s American Idiot. Gee, I wonder why? But, hands down, the music I listened to the most was Cleveland’s own Michael Stanley Band. They should have made it big! They cracked the Billboard charts a couple of times but never made it much beyond their fanatical Northeast Ohio fanbase. The band’s heartfelt Midwest sensibilit never caught on the way Bob Seger and John Mellancamp. I will definitely be checking out your book Cynthia.

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  9. This sounds so good, but I don’t listen to audio books. I still love the music of the 70s and early 80s!! The first album I bought was the Spinners (Could it Be I’m Falling in Love). I am a fan of Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Journey, and many others!!

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